Carlen's Blog
In the documentary, The Great Hack, I think the meaning of the word hack has two meanings: one as in how everybody’s—our—data was stolen and used inappropriately, in ways that we did not consent to or have an awareness of. Even if, technically, the collecting of the data was okay and we signed some mumbo-jumbo Terms and Conditions contract, the data was stolen by an external company (Cambridge Analytica) and used even after they were explicitly told to delete and get rid of it. The data was also used to hack into the democratic process and sway things in a partisan direction through targeted disinformation or targeted information intended to push undecided voters in a particular direction.
As much as it’s great that more people were getting out to vote, it was done through a one-sided lens, without the full knowledge of all sides. It also dissuaded citizens from voting, which is incredibly destructive to democracy and completely unfair. Sowing manufactured doubt and mistrust of systems or candidates goes against democratic values.
The documentary definitely leaves you more aware of your online presence and what kinds of things are being collected about you (which is actually just everything), but I don’t see it really changing many people’s internet and social media use. At this point, in 2025, younger generations have grown up already knowing that our data is being collected and sold, and there is very little we can do about it if we want to prevent this collection. That is unfortunate, but without drastic structural and societal change, this will just continue forever.
If it is not going away, the second-best thing—other than destroying it—is to learn how to live with it, develop digital and media literacy skills, and practice smart technology usage. In education, we talk about digital citizenship and Ribble’s Nine Elements, which encourage education around digital access, digital commerce, digital communication and collaboration, digital etiquette, digital fluency, digital health and welfare, digital law, digital rights and responsibility, and digital security and privacy. By understanding how these data-collecting and targeting programs work, we can better prepare ourselves and future generations to recognize them when they see them and to know how to handle these kinds of situations.
In response to the New York Times review suggesting disconnecting from all media and moving into the woods, I often feel the same. As much as I love technology and the cool things we can do and are developing, there is a definite allure to the disconnect and the freedom that comes with it. So much of our everyday lives is so mundane, yet with such serious consequences, and it seems bizarre to have all of these consequential positions be normalized in such a casual way.
It should not feel normal to be living paycheque to paycheque, one mistake away from ending up on the streets. It should not be normal that private companies and nations are collecting our data about every little thing we say, do, or think online, to the extent that they can calculate our lives before they happen and persuade us to do what they want. In a more primitive or uncomplicated life, these things would overwhelm us and activate our survival instincts and adrenaline. Instead, there are people who have convinced us that this is normal and okay, and that we are helpless.
Society is so broken that a common discussion among women is about preferring to be stuck in the woods with a bear instead of a man. This allegory applies more broadly to this helplessness and fear that we have over something we can’t control—the fear of uncertainty and the unknown. We know what will happen if we run into a bear and have some strategies for dealing with them (if it’s brown, lay down; if it’s black, fight back; if it’s white, goodnight). With men, you never know what they’re capable of, no way of knowing how to deal with them, and there is so much more potential for scarring and traumatic experiences. With nature, you know what to expect; with technology, so much more harm is possible, and the amount of control people have over your life through it is terrifying.
I have already talked about the importance of education around digital citizenship and safety, and although I implied that there is not much we can do, I don’t believe we are helpless. We are only helpless if we allow the status quo to continue—the status quo needs to be interrupted. People need to speak up about their anger toward big tech companies. People need to make their voices heard, vote for candidates who will crack down on these corrupt corporations, and not give up if their votes don’t work. Speak to your representatives. If they don’t listen, don’t stop. We’ve seen these kinds of actions employed by pro-Palestinian advocates across the world. Fax them thousands of messages. Call them. Call them again. We need to start fighting for our rights; it is utterly disheartening to watch society roll over and take it instead of doing something about it.
I did end up falling asleep on two or three different occasions while watching this documentary, which perhaps says something. I found it frustrating to have all the different actors with different (and unclear) agendas. Throughout, I kept thinking about how punchable a face Brittany Kaiser has, but I was glad to see that she was able to kind of turn for the better at the end and continue to advocate for these issues.
Overall, I still found the documentary to have great information and to portray the issue in an interesting way, getting interview footage from all sorts of parties involved from different sides. My frustrations were less with the documentary itself and more with the people and events, but I am glad I watched it. I did have a thought that I appreciated the style of Citizenfour and how uncut it was compared to The Great Hack. This highly edited medium made it more difficult for me to follow and was a little overwhelming.